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“Hope springs eternal in the human breast; 

Man never Is, but always To be blest. 

The soul, uneasy, and confin’d from home, 

Rests and expatiates in a life to come.” 

― Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man 

Staying at home during this unusual and unprecedented time is the best way to help our community and the essential workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis. That being said, we here at Moss Building & Design understand that many people are struggling with how to make the time at home as positive as possible, even with work, distance learning, and family under one roof, all the time. So, with that in mind, we reached out to local area experts to learn ways that we can all take advantage of the time at home this spring to spruce up our homes with some simple, fun and easy do it yourself (DIY) tips – which can result in brighter, greener, less cluttered and more organized homes. We hope you take advantage of these tips and, if you’re in need of home remodeling or improvement, MOSS, an essential business, is open and available for free estimates at your convenience.

Interior Spaces & Staging For Spring  

Dawn Earles, owner of Dawn Earles Design, LLC and curator of popular Facebook group (Renovate Ready Nova (Nova Redesign & Remodel) shared the following top 10 ways to upgrade your interior:  

1. Painting is the best way to freshen up a space: add drama with an accent wall, try using a fashion-forward color like Benjamin Moore Newburg Green HC-158! 
   
2. Give a dull and dated hall bath a face-lift by painting the cabinets a classic color like White or a fun color like Hale Navy and add new hardware to create eye-catching drama.
3. Repurpose old pillows by heading to your favorite craft store and purchase pillow covers for an instant pop of new color or fun texture.  
4. Can’t manage to keep flowers looking fresh and alive? No problem! Create a beautiful DIY boutique with a variety of faux peonies, roses, ranunculus and greenery for instant color! 
5. Looking to add some art to a blank wall? Head over to my friends at Etsy and select from hundreds of downloadable images to print off and frame. I do this a lot for clients on a budget or for rooms that need smaller pieces of art.  
6. Freshen up a family room by decluttering and removing unnecessary objects in corners. A lot of times we find ourselves filling spaces that would be better if left unfilled. 
7. Mirror, mirror on the wall…it’s important to let light reflect objects and what better way than by adding a mirror to your space? This will also make the room appear larger!  
8. When re-arranging furniture, clear the room. Take the scale of your furniture into consideration. We all want to be comfortable but oftentimes we stuff the room with oversized furniture that doesn’t fit the space and end up shoving it all up against the wall. Play around with the furniture in the room but understand you may need to remove a piece or purchase new to accommodate flow and scale. 
9. Color your books…yes! If you have old books around the home, and want to put them to good use, paint them! Grab acrylic paint and pick a color scheme that coordinates with your decor to add interest to bookshelves or style to mantles or tables! 
10. Add texture to your floor. Nothing makes more of a statement in a room than a beautiful rug. It’s OK to layer a rug over the carpet as it adds another element of texture. Nowadays rugs are pet and kid-friendly: just look for a 100% polyester material and you’ll be sure to find one to beautify your space! 

Spring Decluttering With The LITL System 

Lisa Geroci Rigoni, owner of The Organizing Mentors and curator of the Facebook page The Organizing Mentors, shared that her business’s main goal is to help give her clients their space back, both mentally and physically. During this time, she suggests focusing on decluttering the area of your home that drives you the craziest. The kitchen is likely the busiest area of your home at the moment, with constant use and lots of traffic. If that’s not an option, Rigoni suggests working on the area of your home that can serve as a retreat from all the together time we are all experiencing. Perhaps your bedroom could use some decluttering – by making a few actionable changes, you can find some space that works for you to relax better. Rigoni offers virtual sessions for anyone who needs extra assistance in working through their home organization, and also shared with us her proprietary “LITL (Leave It To Lisa) System”, which is outlined below – a great start to spring decluttering:  

THE LITL SYSTEM: 

L – Let It Go – What do you have that you can do without? If something doesn’t fall into the categories of Love or Need, then let it go. Start simple, with what you know you don’t want. 

I – Intentional – What makes you feel positive when you see it? And what has the reverse effect? Discard items that produce negativity, sadness, resentment – and keep the things that bring positive emotions. Ask the difficult questions. 

T – Transform – Once you make a decision, you are transformed. Clean something out, your world will transform. The benefits and relief are instantaneous. 

L – Love It – What you’re left with are only those items that you love and/or need. The space surrounding you will be a truer representation of who you are, and living within that space becomes uplifting and empowering. You’ll love it. 

Home Organization & Maintenance  

Is it just us or do you often find yourself either avoiding organizing your closets until you’ve got “free time”, or, organizing them and then, six months later, returning to the job because you can’t maintain said organization?  

Dan Beller, Chief Operating Officer of Eco-Nize Closets, shared the following with us: “If you want to be successful reorganizing your closet and adding custom closet organizers, it’s best to break down the project into a couple of steps. Here are a few tips and tricks for each step of the process!” 

Decluttering 

1. Before you begin decluttering, take an inventory. Divide everything up seasonally, and try to donate or give away one item per day from each season for a week. 
2. Be realistic: if a particular item is not in style anymore, or you’re not in love with it, add it to the donate pile.  
3. By getting things you’re not wearing donated, you give yourself a better idea of what you need in your new closet. And, the more you can prune down your clothing storage ahead of time, the easier the transition to the new closet will be. 
4. Is there anything in your closet that shouldn’t be there? Did your holiday decoration boxes end up in your closet instead of back in the basement or attic? Get everything into its proper place so you can accurately plan your layout. 

Planning/Design 

1. Start deciding how you want to store everything: by season? Color-coded? By clothing type? Will you store shoes in loose pairs, or in their boxes?  
2. Think about your design: do you want a system open to the floor, so you can slide boxes under your hanging clothes? Or do you prefer a bottom shelf and trim, to give your closet a more built-in look?  
3. This is a great time to get a professional involved – by having a designer from a closet company like Eco-Nize come out for a free consultation, you can get a rendering of your space, suggestions for optimizing your storage, and budget expectations laid out. 
4. Don’t forget about all the useful accessories: tie and belt racks, jewelry tray drawer organizers, laundry hampers, etc. 

Installation 

1. This is the easy part for you! Sit back and let the experts install your beautifully designed brand-new closet! 

Settling In 

1. Fill your new closet back up! Think about buying new, thinner, plastic hangers, rather than reusing your thick clunky wooden or plastic ones – you can actually save a lot of space just by switching to a thinner hanger.  
2. Let your friends come over to admire the new closet, and share these tips with them so they can repeat the process in their homes!  

Adding Greenery Inside and Out

Family owned and operated, Reston Farm Garden Market has several locations in the Northern Virginia area, and, is still operating with online ordering and curbside pickup for their fresh fruits and vegetables, homemade delicacies, plants, mulch and much more. MOSS spoke with Lowell and Bonita Weinstein, owners of Reston Farm Garden Market, to learn more about how to bring greenery into and around your home this spring.  

Indoor Green Spruce Up Tips 

1. Add houseplants, which have relaxation benefits, and also bring oxygen to your home. Start with a small (6 inch desk sized) plant, then expand to 10 inch plants.  
2. Consider beginning a small garden from seed from inside your home. This is also a great opportunity to do this as a family project. Reston Farm Garden Market sells kid-friendly kits for small home greenhouses as well as flower pot kits for kids.  
3. Plant an herb garden – this can be done indoors or outdoors, or as a combination project. Start small with starter plants in a window box or a small pot, then expand to a larger pot outside. You can combine several herbs into one pot as well, but avoid adding mint to the mix (mint is a fast growing herb that will take over the others).  

Outdoor Green Spruce Up Tips 

1. Many people are now preparing their gardens to grow vegetables, getting beds ready, purchasing mulch — now is a great time to begin the process, as Reston Farm Garden Market has 4 inch starter plants for tomatoes, peppers, squash and more available.  
2. With lots of first time customers anxious to beautify their homes’ exteriors and interiors, the Reston Farm Garden Market recommends, if you’re new to gardening, to consider hearty plants such as pansies, geraniums, or begonias. The market also has a full line of shrubs, perennials, and more.  
3. This spring could be a wonderful time to add some color to your home’s interior and exterior but also gives you something to do and keeps your hands busy. And the results of a home garden are truly satisfying!  

So, How Do I Start My Spring Spruce Up?   

We love all the suggestions that our expert Northern Virginia area partners have provided for us to share with you – but truly, we realize that tackling them all at once seems overwhelming. So how does one start the spring spruce up process? Take baby steps. Pick one area that you’d like to improve upon and begin there. Go slowly, pace yourself, and revel in what you’ve accomplished that day or week, but keep your expectations in check.  

At MOSS, we understand that this is an odd time to be living our day to day lives – pick and choose your spring spruce up options carefully, and then keep this list handy for when you’re ready to start task # 2, and so on and so forth. And, remember, as you’re spending more time working in the same space and staring at the same walls, perhaps also considering a spruce up to your master bathroom, gourmet kitchen, basement, or other areas might provide you the focus and motivation to make some remodeling decisions for your home that will benefit you far beyond this spring. Contact MOSS at hello@mossbuildinganddesign.com or call us at 703.961.7707 for a conversation, consultation, or a chat, and we’ll work with you to get started on whatever home renovation has sparked your fancy this spring. 

Gourmet kitchen design trends are exciting to watch as they come into the marketplace, aren’t they?! Moss Building & Design has recently been keeping tabs on several kitchen appliance trends, specifically, that are unique and popular with our customers. Perhaps you’re in the pre-planning or design stages of a gourmet kitchen remodel (or have some long-term plans to begin a kitchen remodel in 2020!) – if you haven’t yet considered specific kitchen appliances, we’d like to share some of those that our kitchen designers are finding particularly trendy:

Hidden Kitchen Appliances

At a glance, do you know where the refrigerator and freezer are in each of these images? If it’s not immediately apparent, then our designers (and clients) did a great job hiding them! In fact, the kitchen appliances are “hidden” behind front kitchen cabinetry panels specifically designed to appear as if they are simply that, cabinetry. This stunning look is very popular and trendy right now and transforms your kitchen. 

We love the look of the all black wall in this Oak Hill kitchen remodel, which also hides a pantry and other storage — all the kitchen cabinets open with a touch mechanism, which completely minimizes the need for handles. The other featured kitchen, also located in Oak Hill, hides the refrigerator and freezer beautifully in line with other accent cabinetry and lighting, and looks more like a featured work of art than an appliance.

Mini-Beverage “Drawer” Fridge

How clever is this? Instead of installing a mini-fridge in your cabinetry, why not install a mini-fridge drawer? This drawer looks just like another way to store pots and pans. But, in fact, it’s a mini-beverage station! Perfect for quickly icing down plenty of drinks or having cool beverages on hand for the kids and for parties. We adore this beverage fridge in this Fairfax gourmet kitchen!

Full-Sized Temperature-Controlled Drink Refrigerator

Why install a mini-fridge when you could install a full-sized one? If your family entertains a lot, or has a large wine collection (and doesn’t have a wine cellar), a full-sized drink refrigerator, complete with perfect temperature control, would work best for your gourmet kitchen remodel. In fact, this full-sized refrigerator is located in the family room with an attached mini dishwasher and bar set up. Perfect additional appliances for all the parties you’ll be able to throw in this renovated kitchen in Reston!

Oven Air Fryer 

Image courtsey of Frigidaire and Home Depot

While the multi-cooker was the “it” countertop appliance for the past few years, countertop air fryers have followed closely on its heels. With the ability to cook food in a manner that is reminisent of frying but with many fewer calories and fat, the air fryer is the answer to many food lovers’ prayers. Now, many appliance makers have been creating conventional ovens that also have the ability to air fry peoples’ favorite foods in addition to regular baking, roasting, or stovetop sauteing. This evolution gets rid of the need for the countertop appliance completely! We think this will be a trend that will be embraced quickly!

“Smart” Kitchen Appliances

This isn’t news, but, technology is everywhere – and if you haven’t seen it in your kitchen appliances yet, you soon will. Imagine being able to control your slow cooker or oven with an app on your phone or via text message? How about all touch controls that connect you to recipes from the internet directly onto your refrigerator? These and more advancements are being seen in more and more kitchen appliances. Probably the best way to help busy families will be the ability to control appliances after you’ve left your home – what if you’re in a hurry getting the kids to school and yourself to work but you can’t remember if the oven or stove are still on? Smart kitchen appliances can notify you when you’re out and about and allow you the remote control (so to speak!) over them – putting your mind at ease and not creating havoc on the homefront. 

What are your favorite of these trendy gourmet kitchen appliances? We think they’ve all got a place in the kitchen remodels of today and the future, and Moss Building & Design would love to chat with you about your dream gourmet kitchen. Contact us at Hello@MossBuildingAndDesign.com or call us at 703.961.7707 for a free consultation – and start thinking about which (or all) of these appliances will have a place in your new kitchen remodel.

Pictured here are two kitchen countertops installed in homes remodeled by Moss Building & Design: 

Can you tell which is granite and which is quartz? Maybe not from a set of kitchen remodel pictures (unless you’re a professional kitchen designer!), but, in person, there are distinct differences. While both are beautiful and add incredible style and look to your kitchen or bathroom remodels, it’s important to know what options exist so you can pick the one that’s perfect for you. 

Granite Kitchen Countertops

A natural stone mined throughout the world, granite is made up purely of various minerals, giving each slab a unique and attractive look. Considered one of the most durable of the natural stones due to its heat-resistant qualities, granite doesn’t blister or chip or scratch easily. Plus, granite is one of the hardest materials found on Earth!

When choosing to use granite in your remodel, slabs are either cut and polished to fit the specific dimensions of a kitchen countertop or bathroom countertop or you can choose pre-cut slabs, depending on your design.

Granite is an excellent choice for kitchen countertop remodels – imagine not having to worry about putting a hot dish on your counter or dropping a heavy platter without a bit of worry! Installing granite in your bathroom remodel is also a great idea for enjoying it long term. The durability of granite cannot be downplayed. 

Are there negatives to granite? Granite is a porous material. It’s important that your countertops be sealed upon installation, and then at various points in the future (using sealers you can purchase and apply yourself), so that liquids are not absorbed too quickly, potentially. Bacteria can also live longer on granite surfaces. Another potential negative to choosing granite is that you are limited to what is available from sources, and, as granite comes from natural sources, the colors and speckling are not going to be bright and bold as something man-made could be. 

Quartz Kitchen Countertops

Quartz is a natural stone that is actually harder than granite and is also extremely durable. It is a non-porous material, which means that neither bacteria nor liquids can be absorbed if present. That all being said, however, quartz is generally not the only material used in quartz countertops. Mostly, the countertops listed as “quartz” are a combination of quartz, a chemical binder, and a variety of other stones – therefore, quartz countertops are more commonly known as engineered stone. 

Quartz countertops used in kitchen remodels must always be protected from high heat pots and pans – the surfaces are not as heat-resistant as granite. While that is a downside, quartz countertops are a more “green” choice for your kitchen or bathroom remodel: by combining a variety of both natural and man-made products, there is less need for damage to the Earth in the process of producing it. Plus, engineered stone is able to showcase specific colors or a more streamlined look than granite (where every slab is different and unique). 

A final difference is price: more homeowners are turning to quartz countertops as they can truly find something that is specific to their aesthetic. This, of course, makes it a potentially higher price point. If you prefer a more natural look, choosing granite might be a good way to also save money. 

Should I Choose Granite or Quartz? Either One! 

You really can’t go wrong with either granite or quartz in your kitchen and bathroom remodel. Moss Building & Design works with each client to understand their personal style and vision to create a design that makes it a reality. Understanding the differences between the two choices can only make the decision making harder! If you’re ready to begin a kitchen or bathroom remodel, contact MOSS today at Hello@MossBuildingAndDesign.com or at 703.961.7707. 

During this time of COVID 19-related uncertainty, it would be easy to focus solely on ourselves and our needs. However, as it has been shown time and time again, we, as a people, are driven to reach out, give back, and help those around us who need it more than we do. However, just as we are still learning how to deal with the situation as it changes every day, figuring out how to help our neighbors, community, and local small businesses is constantly shifting and changing. MOSS has been giving back to the local community for years, and we pride ourselves on partnering with groups that need our assistance. Our team has been listening and leaning in, and hope that we can offer some ways that we can help those #inneed today, tomorrow, and in the weeks and months to come: 

Helping Your Neighbors

• Social media is trending with the hashtag #inneed. If you are in need of something (Clorox Wipes, etc.) or know of an older individual who is, post #inneed then the item that is needed. This is a great way to help on behalf those who are not active on social media. 
• Visit your senior citizen neighbor and ask how you can help them — shop for groceries for them, pick up their medication, and make their life easier and safer. 
• Check in on your neighbors, constantly! Make a text stream for your street neighbors if anyone needs help and be available if anyone needs childcare or dog walking, for example. 

Helping Your Community

• Buy reasonable amounts of items and adhere to guidelines (don’t over buy!). 
• Follow the CDC recommendations: constantly wash your hands with soap and hot water for 20 seconds, don’t touch your face, practice social distancing, shop at off hours to lessen crowds, and be vigilant about staying home if you are sick. 
• Donate any extra canned food or needed items for school children who normally receive free or reduced breakfast and lunch at local elementary schools. 

Helping Local Small Businesses

• Order a meal delivery a few times a week from a local, family-owned restaurant — help them stay in business, especially if communities are asked to self-quarantine. 
• Promote online shopping for local businesses or consider personalized gifts for birthdays or anniversaries for the rest of the year by choosing a local vendor. 
• Local businesses might implement delivery options for dog food, pharmacy items, or more – stay on top of the news or details via NextDoor.com. 

And, when you find yourself potentially at home dealing with an illness, caring for others who are sick, or hunkering down at home with children who are home from school for long periods of time, it helps to think ahead to the future when life returns to normal. Perhaps you’ve been considering a home remodel for a while, or perhaps after staring at your four walls for a few weeks, you’re inspired to make a change! Spend some time browsing our MOSS boards on Pinterest and pin some ideas for a gourmet kitchen or an updated master bathroom, or begin your own vision board on Houzz (check out the MOSS Houzz page for ideas!) to get your thoughts in order. 

Working Together 

By working together as a community to flatten the curve, continuing to practice healthy habits, and focusing on our fellow man as well as ourselves, we can live through this current public health crisis and come out the other side ready to return to our usual day to day existence. MOSS wishes all our customers and friends good health. 

As families grow, both in number and age, homes start to feel a little cozier than when you first moved in. Is that true for your Northern Virginia home? Is it feeling a bit snug? If so, you might have already been considering the different ways to add space, especially if you love your community and want to stay where you are settled. But at the same time, do you adore your yard space? Perhaps the answer to it all is remodeling your home to include a bump-up addition using vertical space to give your family room to breathe AND to preserve the yard you love. Learn about our home remodeling services and how they can help you with your dream home!

A vertical build-up, also called a bump-up or pop-top addition , preserves your existing footprint as well as outdoor space. Options include: Utilizing your existing top floor space with a Gable-style high-pitched roof which may offer room to convert into living space with the addition of large dormer windows, a balcony, and stairwell. Or, add a second story to a Ranch or Rambler style home–perhaps on a narrow lot. Another thought: add a third floor to a split foyer or split level home. Build up with a guest suite, rental, home office, sunroom or porch, or game room above an existing garage or over part of an existing, one-story wing: whichever direction you choose, the end result will give you the space you need while preserving the yard you want. Most pop-top additions are bedrooms/bathrooms/laundry rooms with maybe some common areas.

How to Start Your Home Addition

Home Remodeling Basics

With a vertical home addition of any kind, your contractor should always inspect the foundation and ground to ensure it is stable and can bear the significant extra weight and pressure. Additionally, the allowable height for homes in your neighborhood as well as the floor-area-ratio, also known as building-to-land ratio, will be confirmed before architectural drawings are started or permits pulled.

Some moderate changes will be made to the existing home to create a passageway and stairs, access electrical lines and heating and A/C components, and connect plumbing. Sometimes, it is most cost effective to install a bathroom over a laundry room, kitchen, bathroom, or any other room below with existing plumbing, so the water lines can connect via the shortest distance.

In this Vienna addition, a master suite was built over the garage to maximize living space as the homeowners remodeled their home.

 

 

 

Connecting the Structure

Even though a bump-up home addition is focused on the upper level, a seamless approach to adjoining the lines between the original structure and the new one is essential so that it does not look disjoined. Your contractor will discuss options for the roof line, façade, shingles, windows, doors, and exterior features related to the overall style of your home.

This Arlington bump-up home addition included an entirely new second level, built over the original brick rambler, housing multiple new bedrooms and bathrooms.

In a bump-up addition, you likely will not need to consider where the roofline connects to the house, as a new roof across will most likely be required. In the long-run, a roof’s size and cost to replace is much more manageable as a build-up than a build-out which covers more horizontal square footage. The same can be said for the initial cost of foundation materials to build-out. You will, however, need to consider exterior and interior finishes and materials to create a cohesive style, as well as new windows.

 

 

 

In this Arlington bump-up, also called pop-top, the new second-story home addition included three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a laundry room. In the process of transforming their home, the original brick was painted, while cedar shake siding was used for the new addition exterior, creating a seamless look to the update.

In the back of the bump-up, would you like floor-to-ceiling windows to bring the outside in or would you prefer shorter, higher windows? In the front of the house, windows should complement and harmonize with the existing windows on the main level in regard to size, placement, and spacing. In the back, there is more room to play with design changes. This is a great home remodeling project completed by MOSS.

Have you identified a good place to install the stairs, which require 80 to 120 square-feet, depending on design?

Designing Your Home Addition

Now that you’ve canvassed your neighborhood for recently remodeled floor plans, created an inspiration album on Houzz or Pinterest, and window-shopped various showrooms, it’s time to coordinate your dream home ideas with your and your family’s lifestyle, budget, and purpose for expanding your home.

In this Northern Virginia bump-up, an in-law suite with an enlarged step-in shower, dual-sink, and antique vanity accommodates relatives all-year round.

 

For 18 years, Moss Building and Design has served Northern Virginia in build-up and build-out additions as well as kitchen, bath, basement, laundry, whole-house, and master suite remodels. Contact MOSS at 703.961.7707 or email us at Hello@MossBuildingandDesign.com for a free one-hour estimate to talk about your ideas for a bump-up to preserve yard space and maximize your living space’s square footage. To start your inspiration album of photos and ideas, log on to www.mossbuildinganddesign.com to see our recent projects.

Dreaming about a master suite addition or, more specifically, a master bathroom remodel? Fancy soaking in a deep free-standing tub full of bubbles or stepping onto warmly heated bathroom floors in the cold winter? Watching the morning news while shaving may be ideal for you! Whatever your vision is for a master bathroom remodel, remember to include all the bells and whistles you want, while also ensuring you have privacy from family and neighbors, convenience, and views out your window and down the hall.

Must Haves:

• Privacy
• Function
• Style

A master suite addition includes a bedroom, sufficient closets, and a private bathroom designed specifically for those who will use it daily. Personalize your master bathroom with colors and textures that calm and rejuvenate, with fixtures that are practical to your needs, and with accessories that are functional and tailored to your desires. The start of a new decade brings the refreshing promise of new trends in home interior design.

Personalization:

• Colors and Textures
• Fixtures
• Accessories

2020 Remodeling Trend #1: Wet Room Design

The wet room design is a new style to bathroom functionality, maintenance, and décor. The wet room is becoming increasingly popular in master bathroom remodels where the shower is open or set behind a single wall or is enclosed completely with a tub also behind a closed-in glass wall and door. In either case, the floor is tiled and flush with the floor throughout the bathroom and water is drained away from the rest of the bathroom usage square footage. Interestingly, the entire wet room or wet room enclosure is tiled from floor to ceiling, which provides a spa-like atmosphere. Surprisingly, if they are vented correctly, they are easy to clean and maintain. They are a hot trend for 2020 in master bathroom design.

2020 Remodeling Trend #2: Beautiful & Bold Black Design

Black is considered a neutral color and is a fashionable classic in any color combination or interior design style. In 2020, black is becoming a go-to color in kitchens and bathrooms.

In this Vienna bathroom suite, one of two bedroom-bathroom suites built over the garage for growing teenagers, black industrial style shower doors pop against the white floor-to-ceiling tile with darker grout. A thin black tile trim, black mirror, black lighting fixture over the natural wood vanity, black plumbing features – including the toilet’s flush handle, and black & white mosaic shower floor tile complete the bathroom’s interior design beautifully rich in textures and style.

Black adds drama and intrigue; when paired with another color, the design is anything but ordinary. In this traditional master bathroom design in a master suite addition over the garage, the bold black bank of vanity and storage cabinets makes a strong design statement against the lighter neutral-colored wall and gold accents. To create greater depth, the ceiling is painted a darker color and brings out the gold decorative mirror and plumbing fixtures. Two white vessel sinks anchor the decorative white crown molding and ceiling fan and visually bridge to the tub. A stand-alone traditional, claw-foot soaking tub is positioned near the window with plenty of space to maneuver around and across from a wall-mounted TV for movie night in the tub.

2020 Remodeling Trend #3: Warm Wood Design

In bathroom design trends for 2020, we will continue to see warm wood in accessory details and in vanities. In a bathroom especially, wood creates depth, brings nature inside, and provides the feeling of comfort; it can be very soothing.

In this master suite addition, the master bathroom is a modern, minimalist design showcasing clean lines and style in all selections, from the tile to the wall-hung cabinets to the rectangular soaking tub positioned center under the rectangular window. The long double-vanity and two tall floating storage units, flanked on each side of the sinks, are wood-finished and create a balanced, symmetrical bank of striking wall cabinets. When the blinds are open, lush green trees become the artwork through the picturesque landscape. One of the most luxurious benefits of a master suite addition is the opportunity to plan out the space, the views, and the privacy you desire and need. Give your master suite addition the best view possible through the biggest and well-positioned windows possible. Note, if neighbors are closer than desired, move the window five feet from the floor to give you privacy but also that tranquil view and natural light.

In this Northern Virginia bedroom suite addition over the garage, a wood-grained vanity and thick reclaimed-wood shelves are incorporated into a stylish black & white bathroom designed for a young man. This transitional style bathroom is both stylish and functional.

2020 Bathroom Remodeling Trend #4: Floor-to-Ceiling Wall Design

Transform your space with floor-to-ceiling wall design: tiling both the entire wall behind a vanity or soaking tub as well as wallpapering the entire bathroom are making a comeback. Styling the walls in a bathroom using colorful materials other than paint makes a bold design statement, adds texture and depth, visually expands a space in height or width, and serves as art reflecting one’s personality. Both tile and wallpaper are easier to clean than most think.

In this Vienna addition over the garage, a full-size bathroom is covered in subtle, textured wallpaper with vertical lines to give the illusion the bathroom is taller than eight-feet high. Tall silver wall-hung light sconces are hung on each side of the mirror over the black granite countertop and white vanity. A classic style with a personalized touch of class.

In this Northern Virginia bedroom suite addition over the garage, the entire wall behind the vanity, leading into the shower, showcases tranquil blue-gray subway tile and creates a fluid design throughout the entire space. Inside the shower, a white embossed tile insert serves as a gorgeous focal point and bridges the bathroom’s white tub, toilet, and vanity countertop.

2020 Bathroom Remodeling Trend #5 – Transitional Bathroom Suite Design

Transitional interior design is the best of both worlds, uniting traditional and contemporary styles to create a cohesive, personalized home. In 2020, transitional bathroom design trends will include:

Bathroom vanities, with legs and custom-color, fashion a furniture-style that is unique to the homeowner and luxurious in style. In this in-law suite addition, a colorful antique-style vanity with decorative top-mounted sinks and wall-mounted faucets generate a transitional design the homeowners love. The color of the vanity pulls from the floor tiles and complements the walls in a similar but lighter shade, for depth.

A hanging chandelier in the master bathroom remodel or addition adds elegance and charm in a transitional interior design style. In this colorful shower room with toilet, a glass ceiling chandelier softens the contemporary design with a pretty focal feature.

Just as a white kitchen is timeless, so will be a gray and white bathroom, especially with tile designed to be set in a herringbone pattern. In today’s master bathroom renovations, many homeowners are seeking dual sinks with a sitting area in between to apply makeup or nail polish. In this Northern Virginia master suite remodel, the white and gray bathroom features all the loves of clean lines, white cabinets, and gray and white tile.

Remodel Your Master Bathroom with These Design Trends

When considering your master suite addition, remember, your plan is the most important phase because it will set the stage for all design thereafter. So, if you are seeking privacy, position your walk-in closets between the master bathroom and bedroom or between your master bedroom wall and an adjoining bedroom wall. A well-thought out plan that addresses how you will use the space will ensure functionality from the beginning, and the fun of decorating with colors, textures, and accessories will more easily address your full needs and desires.

For more ideas and inspiration for interior design trends for a master bathroom remodel or addition, please check out our portfolio at www.mossbuildinganddesign.com. For 18 years, Moss Building and Design has served Northern Virginia in build-up and build-out additions, master bedroom and bathroom suites over the garage, and kitchen, bath, basement, laundry, whole-house remodels. Contact MOSS for a free estimate to talk about your ideas for a functional master suite designed with privacy, functionality, and style.

It’s not the zombie apocalypse, but surviving a home addition can feel, in its own way, just as stressful, overwhelming, and scary. It doesn’t have to be that way though! At Moss Building & Design, we strive to give our customers the tools, information, and details they need not only to survive a home addition, but to thrive: before, during, and after the process.

Before Your Home Addition: Plan Ahead

So you’ve signed the contract, made your selections, all materials have been ordered, and the date is set for demo: before panic sets in, circle the start date on your calendar and work backwards to today. What absolutely needs to happen before demo day? Do you need to purge the clutter from the area that MOSS will be working in? Will you have to move furniture, rugs, and wall art? Now is a great time to think about organizing and starting fresh – after all, you’re adding on to your home and will likely want to have a clean slate for decorating (which is exciting!). Set aside a day to tackle this work: we know it isn’t the most fun, but it’s necessary. Schedule Green Drop to pick up your donations (you can choose the charity that items go to), give items away for free to your neighbors by posting on Next Door, or email your friends to come help you.

Planning ahead (especially for a large home addition project) might also include thinking about how you will live during the remodel. Some customers have to literally move out of their homes for a few weeks to a few months if the home will be gutted and open to the elements while it’s being framed out, for example. Think about the long-term needs of your family’s comfort. MOSS will always share recommendations of the best options for what your family’s plan should be. And, you’ll always be able to plan your life along with our proprietary online tool, MOSS Online, that helps you track each step of your project and its progress.

During Your Home Addition: Take it Day to Day

It’s d-day: demo day! While exciting to hear that first hammer on your home, it’s also a bit unnerving. We understand! Surviving a home addition requires plenty of patience on our customers part, and at MOSS, we strive to do our best to disrupt your day to day life as minimally as possible. Sometimes, though, the remodel process can be loud, noisy, and stressful. Knowing what work will be happening each day is crucial for your comfort: we would recommend spending time outside of your home, if possible, with family and friends (especially if you have young children). If you know that your addition will require a week or so of work where your home will be unliveable, we recommend planning a vacation around that time! Have you always wanted to travel abroad? Maybe the best time is during the remodel process!

If your home addition does not require you to move out of your home, yet your daily functions will be affected (i.e. access to your kitchen!), then MOSS will work to set your home up with a temporary kitchen. We’ll move your fridge to another area of the house where you can set up a microwave, toaster oven, slow cooker, etc. to help you manage meals as much as possible.

If you have younger children who still nap during the day, and who need that routine, consider setting up a pack and play in a room farthest from the remodel work. Make it a fun “indoor camping” experience!

After Your Home Addition Is Completed: Take It Slowly

It’s done. The final punch list item has been completed, the dumpster and portajohn have been taken away, and your life can resume its normal path. Remember, though, that you’ve got to, essentially, move back into your own home! If you’ve planned ahead and downsized your items before the remodel began, then you’re in good shape. If not, we would recommend taking it slowly – don’t rush the re-entry process. Figure out what will work with your new space, and what might not.

Let MOSS Help You Survive…and Thrive

No home addition remodel is without its hiccups. But making it through relatively unscathed requires forethought, planning, patience, and care. Moss Building & Design has managed hundreds of home additions for our customers since 2001, and we’ve expertly streamlined our process to make sure every project goes as smoothly as possible. If you’ve been considering a home addition but are nervous about taking the first step, contact us today: we can’t ward off zombies, but we can help you enjoy the remodeling experience and the home addition of your dreams. Email us at Hello@MossBuildingAndDesign.com or call us at 703.961.7707 for a free estimate.

Described on the Pantone website as, “a timeless and enduring blue hue…Classic Blue is elegant in its simplicity…[it] highlights our desire for a dependable and stable foundation on which to build as we cross the threshold into a new era.” Our designers at Moss Building & Design weighed in on some of the various ways that Classic Blue could be used within your home addition to uplevel your decor, wall color, and more.

Paint the Walls of your Home Addition Classic Blue

Blues have long been considered calming and restful, especially in terms of wall paint color. Classic Blue fits the bill perfectly, and is a beautiful choice for the long-term in your home addition. Our designers immediately suggested the use of Classic Blue in several rooms of the home, from the powder room, to the dining room, to the sitting room and the bedroom. An elegant color choice, Classic Blue invites complementary decor colors of golds, whites, silvers, as well as contrasting pops of red, green, or yellow. In a bedroom, Classic Blue would be a gorgeous choice to accent a bright white comforter set and classic dark wood furniture. A home addition including any of these rooms would look both modern and classic with the choice of Classic Blue for the walls throughout an entire room or even just an accent wall.[/vc_column_text]

 

Image courtesy of Architectural Digest

Accent Decor For Your Home Addition

So many choices for ways to use Classic Blue in accent decor! If having the dark shade on your walls doesn’t appeal to you, consider the use of Classic Blue in accent rugs, vases, lamp shades, and other decorative pieces. Wall art with Classic Blue would be a striking balance to an otherwise neutral color scape in a home addition, as would throw pillows — another restful way to relax on a lazy weekend afternoon.[/vc_column_text]

 

Image courtesy of Furniture Today

Classic Blue Furniture Upholstery

If your home addition will include furniture that you already own and love, but would like to change up with the new design, consider re-upholstering your furniture. Classic Blue would give your dining room or living room chairs, sofa or loveseat a bright new look but would keep them in a neutral enough color that it wouldn’t change the entire look and feel of your home addition too dramatically.[/vc_column_text]

 

Image courtesy of Apartment Guide.Com

Kitchen Accents and Accessories

We love the idea of adding some pops of color throughout rooms, especially one of the most used rooms in a home addition, the kitchen. While having painted cabinets is an option, if you’d like to choose a less dramatic route for adding in Classic Blue, consider purchasing a stand mixer or blender with the color. Or, maybe a few coffee mugs. Another way to create some intrigue would be to paint simply a few cabinet doors![/vc_column_text]

 

Image courtesy of London Graphic Centre

Tile for Bathroom Walls & Floor

Another option for incorporating Classic Blue would be in your home addition’s bathroom. Stunning tile is available in the color, and would give your bathroom the spa like oasis that you deserve. The clean look of the color, combined with the streamlined subway tile placement shown in this image, is truly both unique and familiar at the same time.[/vc_column_text]

 

Image courtesy of Fashion Trendsetter

Pantone’s Classic Blue is a richly beautiful color, perfect for all of these home decorating ideas. If you’ve been considering a home addition in 2020, contact MOSS at Hello@MossBuildingAndDesign.com or at 703.961.7707 to receive a free estimate and to learn more about our design process.

Is your kitchen getting a little cozy with a growing family (in number and size)? Do you find you spend almost all your family time around the kitchen island or dinner table? This is a common occurrence as time goes on – your house stays the same as when you first bought it but your family is changing! Maybe it’s time to take a long, hard look at a home remodel – and more specifically, one that will help make the areas you hang out in the most a better fit for your family. At MOSS, we’ve helped many families create the kitchen bump out remodel of their dreams, making their space larger and more attractive and with a better flow and fit for what their family needs.

Is a Kitchen Bump Out an Addition?

A kitchen bump out is essentially an extension of your existing home – adding on space to your kitchen into available space in your backyard or side yard to create a larger space that provides you the room you need, but without a massive multi-story addition. Pushing out the space from your kitchen allows you the option of making an open concept level to your home, one in which your family can gather around a large island, create a formal eat-in space (that can be informal as well) and give your overall home more square footage.

One of the best reasons to add on a kitchen bump out is to help the overall flow of your home: no longer will you be bumping into one another as you make dinner, put dishes away, entertain, or just eat as a family. Adding a kitchen bump out gives you more comfortable space to gather for meals, holidays, or simply family time.

Beautiful Kitchen Bump Outs in Northern Virginia

At MOSS, we’ve had a hand in many beautiful kitchen transformations. A kitchen bump out can help not only add space but give you many options for space re-configurations. Hoping for a better pantry for your kitchen remodel? Check. Want a massive island for storage and entertaining purposes? Check. Want built in charging stations for all the electronics that your family uses? Check!

Here are a few of our favorite kitchen bump outs:

Gorgeous Oak Hill Kitchen Bump Out

Created for a family that loves to entertain, this kitchen bump out was designed to showcase the large center island, which serves as a place to prep meals, eat dinners, and, when entertaining, a buffet zone. The bump out is open to both the casual living room and the family room, creating a flow that didn’t exist prior to the remodel.

Roomy Centreville Kitchen Bump Out

This family chose to transition their formal dining room into a game room for their teens, so when considering their remodel, decided to bump out their kitchen to include a long dining table. It provides both the opportunity for the family to enjoy a formal meal or a casual one, and overlooks the beautiful deck and backyard.

Stunning Oak Hill, Virginia Kitchen and Great Room Bump Out

When deciding how to remodel their home, these homeowners realized that they wanted to bump out the entire back of their home. Included in that decision was to have a large, roomy kitchen that could accommodate their large family gatherings.

So…Why Not A Kitchen Bump Out?

Have you been on the fence about a kitchen remodel because you can’t visualize how it might all fit together? A kitchen bump is possibly the best solution for your home: adding on space can help you create the space that you’ve been dreaming of, and that your elbows (that have been running into people and walls for a while!) will be thankful for. Contact MOSS for a free estimate at Hello@MossBuildingAndDesign.com or 703.961.7707 – we’re ready to help you transform your kitchen today!